Newsgroups: rec.puzzles.crosswords
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From: guy@ulysses.att.com (Guy Jacobson)
Subject: PCWC 13 Results
Message-ID: <1993May3.201923.9642@ulysses.att.com>
Sender: guy@ulysses (Guy Jacobson)
Date: Mon, 3 May 1993 20:19:23 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 504

        		PCWC 13 RESULTS
	        	---------------

First, an apology. (Not for screwing up the dates of the contest; I
already apologized for that.)  I confess that I practiced a small
deception on you readers of rec.puzzles.crosswords.  Clue #5 in this
contest was not submitted by a r.p.c reader---I stole it from Stephen
Sondheim's puzzle "Code Format", which appeared in "New York" magazine
about 25 years ago.  Yes, it's the same Sondheim who wrote the lyrics
to "West Side Story" and the music/lyrics to many other musicals.  He
is also a puzzle enthusiast, and I credit him with introducing the
British-style "variety cryptic" crossword puzzle to many in the U.S.

I did this for fun, to see how well the readership of r.p.c stacks up
against a pro (at least in our own eyes).  Sondheim's container /
charade came in fourth, but the results are inconclusive:  all the
other clues in the top five use the reading "S for Z and O", which
Sondheim couldn't use, because this was part of the secret code that
was the gimmick of the "Code Format" puzzle.

OK.  Now on to the results.

The clear winner was clue #9, by Alan Waldock.  Congratulations, Alan:


   Stressed the change needed to make a zoo just so (9)


Alan is alas unavailable to serve as the next moderator, so that
honor falls to John Rickard, whose similar clue #13 took second:


   What would make zoo so suddenly emphatic? (9)


Yet another "S for Z and O" clue (#4 by Greg Lawler) finished third:


   Forceful way to make Bozo boss? (9)


In fourth place (and the favorite clue that doesn't make use of
the "S for Z and O" reading) was clue #5


   Favoring the last letter and thus embracing it all with sudden emphasis (9)


by the abovementioned Stephen Sondheim (Isn't it rich?)

And in fifth place was the remaining "S for Z and O" clue, #1:


   Substitution turning Zoe to SSE forcefully (9)


written by Mark Brader.

Finaly, the maximum standard deviation prize is taken by first timer
Noam Elkies, for his clue #14, which finished sixth, but had a
whopping 5.09 st. dev (the maximum possible would be 6.46), for this
controversial clue:


   San Francisco accent? (9)



Statistics follow, and then the anonymous comments for each clue.

-- Guy

------------------------------------------------------------------------
        		Detailed statistics
------------------------------------------------------------------------


There were 14 clues and 9 voters; maximum total 117.0

Scores:

	Clue	total	 %max	rank	  mean	 st.dev	 median
	----	-----	 ----	----	  ----	 ------	 ------
	  1	 64.0	 54.7	  5	  7.11	  3.69	  5.50
	  2	 45.5	 38.9	 12	  5.06	  3.07	  5.50
	  3	 45.0	 38.5	 13	  5.00	  3.27	  3.50
	  4	 68.5	 58.5	  3	  7.61	  4.27	  8.00
	  5	 66.5	 56.8	  4	  7.39	  2.91	  8.00
	  6	 58.0	 49.6	  8	  6.44	  3.44	  6.00
	  7	 59.5	 50.9	  7	  6.61	  3.25	  6.00
	  8	 51.0	 43.6	 11	  5.67	  1.96	  5.50
	  9	 89.5	 76.5	  1	  9.94	  3.81	 11.50
	 10	 52.0	 44.4	 9-10	  5.78	  2.26	  5.50
	 11	 38.0	 32.5	 14	  4.22	  3.90	  3.50
	 12	 52.0	 44.4	 9-10	  5.78	  3.00	  5.50
	 13	 69.5	 59.4	  2	  7.72	  4.38	  9.50
	 14	 60.0	 51.3	  6	  6.67	  5.09	  8.00

Vote distribution histograms:

           3 |                           
           2 |                           
           1 |   X   X XXX       X  XXX  
Clue #1      |___________________________
                                  1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3

           3 |                           
           2 |                           
           1 | X X  XX   XXX   X   X     
Clue #2      |___________________________
                                  1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3

           3 |                           
           2 |       X                   
           1 |  X X XX   XX    X      X  
Clue #3      |___________________________
                                  1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3

           3 |                           
           2 |                           
           1 |  X X    X X    X     XXX X
Clue #4      |___________________________
                                  1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3

           3 |                           
           2 |                X          
           1 |    X     XXX   X  X X  X  
Clue #5      |___________________________
                                  1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3

           3 |                           
           2 |                           
           1 |   XX  X   XX   X   XXX    
Clue #6      |___________________________
                                  1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3

           3 |                X          
           2 |            X   X          
           1 |X         XXX   X         X
Clue #7      |___________________________
                                  1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3

           3 |                           
           2 |           X               
           1 |      XX XXX X  X  X       
Clue #8      |___________________________
                                  1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3

           3 |                           
           2 |                        X X
           1 |  X        X         XXXX X
Clue #9      |___________________________
                                  1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3

           3 |                           
           2 |         X X    X          
           1 |   X     XXX    X  X       
Clue #10     |___________________________
                                  1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3

           3 |                           
           2 | X                         
           1 |XX X   X   XX    X      X  
Clue #11     |___________________________
                                  1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3

           3 |                           
           2 |   X       X    X          
           1 |   X     X XX   X      X   
Clue #12     |___________________________
                                  1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3

           3 |                           
           2 |                   X   X   
           1 |X X        X    X  X   X  X
Clue #13     |___________________________
                                  1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3

           3 |                           
           2 |                          X
           1 |XX X   X        XX      X X
Clue #14     |___________________________
                                  1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3


------------------------------------------------------------------------
		Comments received for all clues
------------------------------------------------------------------------

 1) Substitution turning Zoe to SSE forcefully (9)

 Strictly speaking, the cryptic would correspond
 to "SS for Z and O"; in the surface, who is Zoe,
 and why would a substitution compel her to face
 a particular direction?  Another demerit because
 "forceful" derives from the same root as "sforzando"

  An awkward reading.  Does not flow as well as #4 or #9 or #13  with
  the same idea.

 I rank my own clue second-best among the group using the S-for-Z-and-O
 approach, and third-best overall.  I note incidentally that those people
 who think that cryptic clues must be drawn from a certain limited set of
 constructs will be unhappy, not only with the S-for-Z-and-O clues, but
 also with clue 11, which I am ranking second.  Which makes Guy's choice
 of this difficult-to-clue word a very interesting one.

 Surface reading is somewhat clumsy (how could a substitution turn
 someone)?  Needs a '?'

 The surface meaning, which started out so promisingly, suddenly
 hit a snag at the "SSE".

------------------------------------------------------------------------

 2) Mix francium, zinc and dysprosium (not yttrium!) with arsenic
    in oxygen gas and strike forcibly (9)

 Rather complicated and (I think) painfully obvious 
 in the cryptic part (you could clue nearly ANY word
 this way), and the O_2/OO part doesn't seem quite
 right (O_2 isn't used directly, and OO isn't
 the correct chemical notation); "strike" doesn't sound 
 right as part of the straight definition (my dictionary 
 doesn't admit sforzando as a verb); "forcibly" derives
 from the same root as "sforzando" (more points lost)

  I am not fond of clues that require knowing all the
  abbreviations for minerals.

 I didn't like the use of "oxygen gas" to indicate two O's.
 Also, "strike forcefully" would have made a better definition.

 Downgraded because of the technical knowledge required -- not only the
 various symbols but that oxygen gas is O2 -- and because even with such
 an esoteric approach it required a "subtraction" from the anagram.

 A little too obvious how it works.  The "in oxygen gas" implies that
 the O's should be on the outside.

 To get from "oxygen gas" to "OO" is a long leap.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

 3) Tevye started among roofs and fiddled loudly (9)

 "Tevye starts" is indirect (not as bad as an indirect
 anagram, I guess, but it loses points in my book);
 I don't think sforzando is exactly synonymous with
 "loudly" (which would be forte, musically speaking);
 good surface meaning, though

  I think Tevye started = Z is a little too indirect.
  It reads well though.

 Too obscure, and the dreaded indirect anagram!

 Severely downgraded for the use of "started" to mean "first letter of"
 and for the use of an role, without further indication, to clue an actor.

 Tevye -> Zero is obscure, especially as there is no indication to
 substitute Tevye's actor.  Surface reading is nice.

 Great surface reading, but to get from Tevye to Zero Mostel to
 Zero to Z is a long journey for the solver.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

 4) Forceful way to make Bozo boss? (9)

 Strictly speaking, the cryptic would correspond
 to "SS for Z and O"; good surface meaning makes
 up for it somewhat.  Further downgraded because
 "force" derives from the same root as "sforzando"

 Sorry, but the proposed substitution turns BOZO into BSSS.

 Severely downgraded; nothing indicates that "make Bozo boss" means
 "THE FORMULA FOR the letter substitution that makes...".  Compare my
 clue 1 with the word "Substitution", and the even better clue 9.
 Very nice surface reading, though.

 Good "substitution" clue.  Decent surface reading.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

 5) Favoring the last letter and thus embracing it all with sudden emphasis (9)

 Good cryptic, but the surface meaning seems unclear

  The reading here doesn't quite work for me although it is
  a good try.

 Not bad, but awfully long, and lacks a smooth surface reading.

 Surface reading a bit awkward.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

 6) Heatless, a shot froze and shattered suddenly with a forceful sound (9)

 "Heatless, a shot froze" doesn't have much surface
 meaning to me; nothing indicates that the letters in 
 "heat" are to be subtracted out of order; use of 
 "forceful" (which is based on the same root as 
 "sforzando") lost some points

  I can't quite picture ``a shot froze'' and heatless is a
  a little weak.

 Too long, and contains an acronym with a subtraction, and I can't think
 of any sort of SHOT that would freeze and shatter.  But the construction
 and surface reading are good; fourth place.

 "Heatless" is awkward in the surface reading.

 Problems with the surface reading here, especially "heatless",
 "froze", and the intransitive form of "shattered".

------------------------------------------------------------------------

 7) MUSIC WORLD's emphasis on _Forza del Destino_ with no deletion
    is misplaced (9)

 Nothing indicates that the letters in "deletion" are
 to be subtracted out of order, and the anagram
 indicator is separated from the stuff being anagrammed

  I like the definition here but I am not as fond of ``with
  no deletion'' in the straight reading.  I also don't know
  what Forza del Destino is, but then again I'm not very
  educated!

 Not bad, but downgraded for the acronym with subtraction.

 Although the surface reading is good and the clue is technically
 correct, I'm a little uncomfortable with an angram that involves
 removing large numbers of letters.

 Excellent charade.  My only quibble is the common root between the
 Italian words "forza" and "sforzando".

------------------------------------------------------------------------

 8) Use 's' for 'z' and overuse 'u'?  Spelling accent! (9)

 The surface meaning holds no spark for me, and I don't
 buy "spelling" as a hidden word indicator

  I really like the question part but ``Spelling accent'' doesn't
  quite make sense.

 The 'u' in the clue seemed extraneous.  I wasn't too thrilled
 about using "spelling" as a hidden word indicator, either.

 Container is not well indicated; 'u' seems totally redundant.

 "Spelling" is not a good indicator of a hidden word.  '!' normally
 indicates an &lit clue.  'u' is superfluous.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

 9) Stressed the change needed to make a zoo just so (9)

 Good cryptic (a single "S" replaces "ZO") with a pretty
 good surface

  A nice flowing clue.

 The substitution turns ZOO into SSS, not SO!

 First place.  Enough said.

 'a' is extra.  Good surface reading.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

10) Franz messes with Odo's big bang (9)

 "Big bang" as a straight definition seems strained
 (bang is a noun, sforzando is an adjective/adverb);
 anagram indicator doesn't seem to encompass "Odo's"

 Names used for anagram purposes are generally pretty obvious.

 I didn't like the presence of the anagram indicator between the
 words being anagrammed, and "big bang" doesn't really work as a
 definition.

 Not bad, but not too interesting.

 Surface reading obscure (especially to non-DS9 fans).  "Big bang"
 is very loose definition of SFORZANDO.

 I think "big bang" is a little off as a definition, but no worse than
 much of the competition.  "Odo" degrades the surface meaning as an
 apparently arbitrary proper name; maybe I should have heard of him?

------------------------------------------------------------------------

11) Verdi's emphatic style (9)

 Is there a cryptic part here?  I didn't see it

 I don't really get the `style' part of this clue.

 Second place; nice and simple, and (as I noted under clue 1) a good
 reminder that the "standard" cryptic clue forms don't have to always
 be used.

 Umm.. Interesting clue, but not a "cryptic" clue as usually meant in
 this group.  Sorry, can't give you credit.

 I hope you didn't get flamed too badly.  Keep reading the newsgroup
 and try again soon.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

12) After the first part of "Shogun" ran, food was thrown 
    around --- far from a sign of stress (9)

 "Hardly" would seem a better choice than "far from"
 in the surface, but then the cryptic part wouldn't work;
 sforzando is used as a sign of stress but isn't a sign
 itself (sign is a noun, sforzando an adjective/adverb)

 Pretty long and doesn't read as well as a number of the other clues.

 Nice construction, but downgraded for "far from A" as clue for Z,
 and for grossly excessive length.  Look at a printed cryptic, people!
 How often do you see a clue more than 8 words long?

 "Thrown" not a very good anagram indicator (although "thrown around"
 would have been).  "Far from a" meaning 'Z' is a big stretch.

 Aren't there a whole lot of letters which would qualify as "far from a"?

------------------------------------------------------------------------

13) What would make zoo so suddenly emphatic? (9)

 Good cryptic (a single "S" replaces "ZO"), but just how 
 can a zoo be emphatic?

 Nice and succinct; however, I'm not sure what it means to make
 a zoo emphatic.

 As in (9), the substitution doesn't quite work.

 Last place.  As in clue 4, there's no indication that it's cluing a
 letter-substitution formula; and the surface reading is also peculiar.
 At least, I don't see many emphatic zoos around where I live...

 Surface reading strange -- how can a zoo be emphatic?

 Not bad, but I have a hard time visualizing an emphatic zoo.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

14) San Francisco accent? (9)

 SF abbreviating San Francisco is okay, but then equating
 it to sforzando seems too indirect (like using "direct
 current" for "Washington," as they both are represented by DC)

 I would find this difficult because I tend to think of sforzando
 as being abbreviated `sfz'.  However, if `sf' is a standard
 abbreviation, this is a marvelous clue.

 A beauty!  "Science fiction accent?" would work too, but
 wouldn't be quite as evocative.

 Another "non-standard" clue depends on knowledge of two abbreviations.
 I think the musical "sf", at least, is sufficiently specialized
 knowledge that I have to downgrade this.

 I don't think so.  This would work if the clue were for the entry "SF",
 but "San Franscisco" simply doesn't mean "SFORZANDO" no matter how you
 cut it.

 You've done a fair job clueing the word "sf", but the usual style in
 a charade is to encode the original word.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- 
_________________________________________________________________
Guy Jacobson   (908) 582-6558              AT&T Bell Laboratories
        uucp:  {att,ucbvax}!research!guy   600 Mountain Avenue
    internet:  guy@research.att.com        Murray Hill NJ, 07974
